Boss: Beyond the fringe

Got to hand it to Boss, they know how to stage a powerful show. Case in point, this Sunday in Milan, where a huge cast marched around an immense dais at the center of a looming fashion tent.

On the dais, the indie orchestra led by French composer Henri Scars Struck, posed underneath a small regiment of stalactite lights. Bathed in the same lilac light as the custom-made auditorium and runway, they played some elegiac string-driven music that perfectly suited the rich quality of the fashion.

The sounds complimenting a very fine collection, which referenced the glory brand’s glory days of the 1970s, and also riffed on the 1920s -- a major trend this season.

Multiple designers have been obsessed with the Roaring Twenties and one of its key signatures – fringes. Few more so than Hugo Boss chief brand officer Ingo Wilts, who finished charcoal gray felt dresses with fringes, and mannish business suits, cashmere scarves, fine wool tunics and woven leather bags; the latter seen in the very first look.

Wilts concentrated on the glory days of Boss back in the 70s, when the brand defined the power silhouette of that era. And the result was one of the strongest Boss collections in many years.

In a co-ed show, crisp business suits, shiny leather great coats and snappy track pants for the boys; fluid silk mono-color cocktails, second-skin leather shirts and perfectly cut blazers for the gals.

Both sexes also got to wear broken zebra-pattern suits and double-breasted coats that had lots of panache. In a word, highly wearable clothes for the office or after-hours.

“Our idea was cross-generation. So, pieces from our past mixed with the new. Our heritage business was very strong in the 70s and 80s. So our starting point was the ad campaigns of that era. Together with 20s and its fringes. Bringing back the past, but with freshness,” explained Wilts, still bearing the faint hint of a tan acquired at New Year’s vacation in the Philippines.

Boss: Beyond the fringe

See also